Berlin Secession

also: Berliner Secession

movement 1898-1913 Germany Europe

The Berlin Secession was founded on May 2, 1898, when 65 artists broke away from the state-backed Association of Berlin Artists to escape the conservative tastes of Kaiser Wilhelm II. Led by Max Liebermann, Walter Leistikow and Franz Skarbina, it mounted independent exhibitions that quickly became Germany's premier showcase for modern art, mixing German Impressionism with the first waves of Expressionism and welcoming foreign artists from Munch to Monet. Backed by the art dealers Bruno and Paul Cassirer, the Secession gave Berlin a rival to Munich and opened the art world to younger and lower-class artists. Internal quarrels and the revolt of the Expressionists split the group in 1910-1913, and the association was hollowed out after the National Socialists seized power in 1933.

Von links: Wilhelm Kohlhoff , Erich Büttner , Friedrich Scholz, Ernst Fritsch , Leo von König , Lovis Corinth , Ernst Oppler , Emil Orlik ,
Von links: Wilhelm Kohlhoff , Erich Büttner , Friedrich Scholz, Ernst Fritsch , Leo von König , Lovis Corinth , Ernst Oppler , Emil Orlik , Public domain (credit: Erich Büttner) · source

Defining characteristics

  • Impressionist-inflected painting of modern Berlin life: boulevards, cafes, tennis courts, ballet
  • Deliberate pluralism - German Impressionism and early Expressionism hung side by side
  • Independent, jury-curated exhibitions replacing the academic salon
  • Loose, atmospheric brushwork and luminous colour over academic finish
  • International scope, showing Renoir, Pissarro, Munch and Whistler alongside German members

Key figures

  • Max Liebermann (1847-1935) — Founding president of the Secession and leader of German Impressionism
  • Walter Leistikow (1865-1908) — Co-founder and secretary whose rejected landscape triggered the secession
  • Franz Skarbina (1849-1910) — Co-founder and leading Berlin painter of the new movement
  • Lovis Corinth (1858-1925) — President from 1911, bridging Impressionism and Expressionist fervour
  • Max Slevogt (1868-1932) — Core member and one of the three great German Impressionists

Example works

  • The Dance of Life — Edvard Munch (1899-1900)
  • Café Bauer — Lesser Ury (1898)
  • Grunewaldsee (or Schlachtensee) — Walter Leistikow (c. 1900)

Sources

← Back to the catalog